SUNSET AT THE NORTH POLE: This is the sun setting in the North Pole with the moon at it's lowest point (seen huge above the setting sun). Isn't that about the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

A Story for Kaeli....
I am posting this story about a musher from Alaska for my neice, Kaeli. She has become interested in what she calls the "pure sport" of mushing and especially the "last great race," the Iditarod. Kaeli says she had rather read about mushers then the latest antics of the NFL or NBA players, many of which are unfortunately illegal.
Well, Kaeli, I hate to tell you that this musher broke the law....yes, Tim Osmar broke through the barricade to get to his family's homes in Caribou Hill to fight the wildfire and save the homes. Unfortunately, in the process shattering his ankle and breaking his leg.
Tim Osmar finished 34th this year but you may remember him most for being the musher that acted as a "visual interpreter" for blind musher, Rachel Scdoris, in 2006. He helped her finish the race!
This story is pure Alaska and an example of the strength of character and individuality that I love in the people of this state! Boy, am I gonna miss Alaska!

Sunday was a pretty busy day-I really am trying to cram every minute full of Alaska. I joined my friend, Kathy, for a trip to the Alaska Botanical Garden. This weekend was their Fair and the place was hopping. We had a great day and my camera got a work out on the plants-check out the picture of the Blue Himalayan Poppy, I think it turned out beautifully.
After the Fair we went back to Kathy's. She has a beautiful garden! Somehow it did not get in the pictures but I will be posting it soon. I want you to see what can be done in the yard up here! Wow, she has huge bleeding heart, the blue poppies, roses, iris-and rocks to die for! I know it is a lot of work but WOW!
I am sure I overstayed my welcome but Kathy was a wonderful host. While I was there Lea Ann called (she was a traveler also who has taken a permanent job here) to see if I wanted to go to Girdwood and eat at the Double Muskie. .....and, surprise, surprise she lives across the street and two houses down from Kathy.
So about 6:30 we headed down Turnagin Arm (I've previously posted tons of pictures of that beautiful drive) to Girdwood and the famed Double Musky Inn (check out their cookbook). The food lived up to it's reputation-I had salmon with an orange glaze and mango salsa and LeaAnn had a game hen marinated in Tabasco. We ended with strawberry and blueberry cream pies that were very wonderful!
After dinner we drove into Girdwood and looked at the famous bakery-we were too full to do any more than look at the building. I have made two trips past Girdwood (I didn't realize there was a town further up the mountain that I was missing) and both times stopped at what I thought was the famous bakery. I was very disappointed-now I know why, that wasn't the famous bakery!
We ended the evening at the very beautiful and very exclusive Alyaska Resort with a trip up the tram to the top of the mountain. There is a restaurant up there called Seven Glaciers and the view is wonderful but the prices will knock your glasses off! Since it was almost 9:30 the young lady at the tram ticket counter just gave us a pair of tickets for dinner and the tram-we promised her we were just going to ride up and look around so we wouldn't use the dinner tickets. The tram ride was beautiful and the view from the top was beautiful but Alaska is incredibly majestic that I must be getting immune to it-we agreed it probably wasn't worth the price of the tickets.
We drove back to Anchorage, seeing two moose on the side of the rode en route, where LeaAnn topped my day off by giving me fresh spinach from her deck garden! A very nice day indeed!

Important information for responsible dog ownership....I want you to be well informed :-)
Click on the picture to enlarge so you get all the important information about dog poop!

PUT ON YOUR GLASSES!!!!
Bummer, I just ruined the last of my rose essential oil (very pricey stuff)! I just had about 100 drops left so I decided to dilute it in fractionated coconut oil to make it last longer. So, I went to the bottles of oil, I realized when I started surveying the labels I didn't have my glasses on...but, oh well, if I hold the bottle way off I can sort of figure out what it says. So, I found the one that said "fractionated coconut oil." I took it to the counter and started to drip it into the rose oil bottle when I noted an unmistakable waft of insect repellent!!!
(interruption for a call from my very pregnant daughter-in-law...I'll be a grandma before long!)
Anyway, I took another waft and recognized (with horror!) the oil I was dripping into the rose oil-it was lemon eucalyptus! EEEK! Now, I like lemon eucalyptus...when I am blending an insect repellent or pouring a health lodge but NOT with a very expensive rose oil!!!! It smells like insect repellent and is impossible to cover in a blend!!!!!
I ruined the last of my lovely rose oil because I didn't put on my glasses! I am going now to get a chain to wear the stupid things around my neck-and as soon as I get back to Texas I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket...if I win I'm getting the surgery to fix old eyes!

DAIRY QUEEN COMES TO ANCHORAGE!!!
I promised I'd never step into a DQ after my tenure on the wagon train when I ate at every grasy spoon DQ in every back water place in Texas and thought it was a treat....but, I guess I just don't know GOOD. People are going crazy! Apparently there is only one Dairy Queen in Alaska and it is about 3 or 4 hours away. No more, Anchorage has a Dairy Queen-I will NOT be standing in line for 30 minutes, even for my fav...a Tropical Blizzard.

Wishing you a Happy Summer Solstice from the LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN!
The photo above is the sun setting and rising on the solstice in 1997. Is that beautiful enough for you???

RETURN TO TEXAS.............

It can be a little difficult to shake information loose from CompHealth, but, right now it looks like I will fly out of Anchorage at 10:30pm on July 5 and arrive in Abilene on July 6 at 4:30 pm. I am looking forward to coming home but leaving Alaska in July is difficult. If I had it to do over again I would plan to be here the summer and leave at the end of February-everyone wants to leave Alaska at the end of February....even those who love Alaska, love the winter and winter sports!

ANCHORAGE WALK ABOUT:

With no trip planned for this weekend, I decided to head back downtown. Anchorage is really beautiful in the summer. Flowers everywhere! Planted in neat beds and hanging in baskets all along the streets-hundreds of hanging baskets.

And, of course, the frequent sighting of very tacky salmon art!

Included in this web album link is the solstice festival. The pictures were taken in the exact location of the ice sculptures and ice rink I posted in the winter. Amazing what changes a few months and the melting of snow brings!

THAT WHALE IS HOW OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran across a couple of articles I want to share with you.
This is very practical information about the little things you can do-that cost little or nothing-to transform your lifestyle into one of a more vibrant, healthy lifestyle. This is part one and part two-I think you will find at least a handful of things that you can incorporate into your life easily.
Remember, your health is your responsibility and you have the power to heal yourself. If you need more knowledge find a practitioner to partner with you in providing the information you need-never relinquish your life to someone else, even if their name starts with Dr. or ends with FNP. Take charge!

The Fjordland Ship-Kenai Cruises

On Saturday fellow locum tenens, Jane, and I got up early to catch a train from Anchorage to Seward where we were to embark on a tour of Resurrection Bay for what was billed as a wildlife cruise (great cruise, false advertising-no wild life).
I guess airline travel and train travel have some commonalities-we had to arrive an hour early for the train....at the early, but sunny (summer in Alaska-it's sunny all the time) time of 5:30am....oh, yes, picture ID required.
It was a rocky start-Jane called-she'd overslept, so I ran to the train station a little later than the lady at Kenai Tours insisted we needed to be there. And, with Murphy's Law in operation, the parking machine would not take my $10. In fact, it initially ate the damn thing. By the time I coaxed it out of the machine there was a line of folks who had also ignored the tour directors admonishments about arrival time. In a desperate attempt to get me out of their way I was offered any number of crisper $10 bills in exchange for my sad Jackson. However, none worked and the crowded grew larger and more desperate for me to move on-however, being Alaska, everyone remained kind. In retrospect, I believe if I had continued to shove the rejected bills into the machine someone would have eventually paid my parking....but, I try to be as nice as the people I encounter here so I moved out of the way. What to do? I exchanged the rejected $10 for a nice crisp $5 and five nice crisp $1 bills that the gift shop attendant was kind enough to provide-after searching here entire cash drawer for stiff money! Next time I take the debit card!
I took my place at the back of a very long but very rapidly moving line. When it was my turn I explained Jane's predicament to the ticket taker lady and got the surprise of my life-these are not trained by the same people that train the airline ticket takers!!! She was very sympathetic, so hoping Jane would make it on time, it would be such a disappointment to miss the train ride, etc, etc. So, well, we'll just issue her boarding pass for the trip up and back and hold them at the counter in hopes Jane makes it!!! Hello! Customer service award time!!!
Jane tells me that when she ran through the door hoping to see the train still on the track the ticket lady called her over with a, "you must be Jane-I have your boarding pass." So imagine my surprise when my traveling partner showed up in the seat next to me!
Four paragraphs and we haven't left the train station yet-better go grab a cup of that good green tea and get comfy this was a great day!
Now, I have to have a say about train travel-after traveling twice by train in my life I feel qualified to say that I believe our society started going to the dogs when we stopped traveling by train. I am sure if we still used the rail system for a major form of travel the crime rate would be lower and we would all be kinder neighbors!
I LOVED IT! I am going to try to do more. Yes, I hear you saying...."but it takes so long." Yep, it does...but maybe we ought to slow down a little bit.
The pace is slow. You get a chance to observe and talk to the people around you. People are nice to each other on the train! When I traveled from Arizona to Texas with no money and no food, people fed me! And it never entered my mind that they might poison me!
There is more room and you aren't crammed up elbow to elbow with the next person-I wonder if that enforced intimacy on the airplane results in people pulling inward and ignoring the person who is elbow to elbow, hip to hip and knee to knee with you...or is it the difficulty in carrying on a conversation over the roar of engines.
The seats were so roomy and there was-are you sitting down-plenty of LEG ROOM and even a foot prop! I was in heaven...even if I didn't spend much room in my seat what with the bistro car and the dining car and the domed observation car to explore.
There was a lovely couple with a beautiful, happy, content baby....and our car B hostess who just graduated from high school and passed around her flora and fauna book and her photo album she made as a project to get this job. And we all looked at her scrapbook just like she was our favorite grandchild.
I won't go on anymore about the dining car and the bistro car and the domed viewing car and the nice roomy bathroom because I have to get to the real reason the take this particular train-
I am still breathless over the scenery!!! This is supposed to be the third most beautiful train ride in the US-I can't even imagine something more beautiful!
OK...now we'll leave the station!
Shortly after we left Anchorage we rode alongside the sea on Turnagin Arm-the road is along the water and the railroad track is somehow built between the road and the water-you are right at the water's edge. I spotted a bald eagle-well, Jane probably spotted it and pointed it out to me...I'm not good at the spotting part. And then another....and another...and another. I lost count at about 15 and we just kept seeing them! The tide was out and they were landing at the tide pools fishing, I guess.
On we went, up the mountains, along the water, past huge glaciers, around and around spiraling hairpin curves, between cuts in the mountain so close you could reach out and touch the plants, and past waterfall after waterfall.....and then when you didn't think it could get more beautiful....through a series of 5 tunnels alongside a drop away gorge with a river rushing down it.
And coming home there was even more in store! The train moved incredibly slow coming back-especially at certain areas. Especially areas were we could look down the mountain into marshy, bushy areas. Those are the areas where wildlife is spotted and the train conductor was more interested in having us see bear and moose than in getting back to Anchorage post haste! And we did!!! I was in the domed observation car when the lady in front of me yelled excitedly-"it's a bear!" "Isn't it?" Sure enough, everyone ran to the right of the train-lucky me, that's where I was sitting, and confirmed her sighting. Yes, it was a big black bear. He ambled to the edge of the brush and stood up looking back in the direction of the train. I got one blurry picture but I won't be deleting it-if you look really close you can see a big black dot-that's the bear!
Shortly after that I saw two baby moose-or is that meese-in a river down below. Being less confident than the other lady-I whispered, "moose." The man behind me-obviously a tourist-declared they were caribou. However, having lived in the big city of Anchorage I know moose! Sure enough we soon spotted the mom grazing in the thicket alongside the river-the babies went running to her! With me snapping off pictures as quickly as I could-try focusing at running moose 200 yard below you while on a moving train! Even if it slowed down-the train, not the moose...although they slowed down as soon as they got to mama-she couldn't be bothered with a train even if she noticed us.
Eventually, we got to Seward. It takes about 5 hours by train and about 2.5 by car....but, you couldn't see all this wonderful stuff!
There we boarded the Fjordland cruise boat for a day in Resurrection Bay. We headed out about an hour to Fox Island where we disembarked for a lunch of salmon and a 20 minute presentation by our Park Ranger/biologist, Colleen. I have a picture of her wearing her "welcome aboard hat." She changes to a cap after we are underway as the hat would blow off...she explained there are rules about which hat she wears when....stupid!
On the way out of the slip we saw fishing boats-commercial and for rent-a research vessel and a big coast guard ship. (At the end of the trip when we got off our boat we saw a fishing boat which had just docked with a huge shark on the floor!) Just outside of the boat dock area the coast guard were conducting some type of exercises with a helicopter-who was, at one point, carrying something hooked by a long rope....interesting.
We passed an area where three glaciers were almost coming together! And enjoyed more beautiful scenery. There was one small crisis. There were some really nice people on board from Seward-they own an automotive repair place. Their children were down from Texas ("he met some girl from Texas, followed here there, married her and never came home" Mama explained and they were bound for Fox Island to stay the weekend). Anyway, Colleen noticed smoke-she and the crew were always looking around with binoculars for something to point out to us tourists. As it turned out the smoke was something burning at these people's house. Via cell phone they were able to determine it was a car and I guess get it put out because when our boat driver offered to take them back they declined. It was obvious that Colleen, these Sewardites and the boat driver were all acquainted-which one would expect of locals in a very small town ("a town of about 4,000 which swells to 50,000 on July 4). I'm thinking you'd have to ban together to survive the summer influx of tourists!
At Fox Island we had a so-so meal of salmon, rice, salad and desert and headed back out for a final 4 hours of touring-and looking for whales. They escaped our eagle eyes this day! But, we did see Rocky Mountain sheep which are shaggier then the Dahl and don't have the beautiful curved horns. There was a family-mom, dad and baby.
On the way to Fox Island we saw a sea otter and puffin. We continued to see puffin flying over head and in the water during the cruise. But, the best sighting was while my camera was jammed (I also ran out of batteries before we got to Fox Island, even though I started with fresh ones...fortunately, they were available for a mere $1.50 a battery.) There was a puffin in a crevice in some rocks (how the boat driver spotted him I'll never know)....so he pulled up to the edge of the cliffs so we could see it...when we got closer we could see the head of another one sitting in the crevice peeking out....the one we originally spotted very pointedly turned his back to us but neither on made a move to fly off. I was wondering if we were going to hit the cliff-I bet there wasn't two feet between us and the cliff. I really was wishing my camera was working-not just for the great chance to photograph the puffin but because I was on the upper deck and the picture of the prow of the boat up against the cliff would have been great!
Due to camera malfunction, you also won't see the Stellar Sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks or the cliffs that were alive with birds! You'll have to take it from me that it was awesome. On one rock there was a big, big bull!
But, the most beautiful, most majestic, most special moment came when we entered spiral cove. There are huge finger-like projections of rock coming up out of the water topped with trees and vegetation. They are arranged in a spiral like grouping and our boat driver took us in among them, at times barely scrapping between them. We were all gasping and at times almost silent in awe!!! I could go back just for that.....I used my rapid fire setting to get a series of pictures of the waves raising and falling against the rocks-look for that when you look at the pictures.
It was some day!!!! As for the pictures-you may get tired of looking at them. I realized when I reviewed them this morning that there are lots of pictures of mountains, water, mountains and water, etc. But, when you are there it is so beautiful and I am constantly trying, unsuccessfully to capture the beauty and the majesty! I fall short every time but I keep trying! Oh, how I wish you were all here to see it yourself....this is the most beautiful place on earth.
On the way home last night Jane wondered if anyplace else will every seem beautiful again after being here....I'm not sure. Right now it is simply impossible to believe there is another place on earth this beautiful. I will be leaving on July 3 and it is with mixed feelings....I will miss Alaska!
On another note-Shawna and Tony....I was thinking about you yesterday. I wish I would have been in Abilene for your wedding but I know it was wonderful and I'm so happy for both of you!!
Ok....here is the link for the pictures-I saved it to last so you had to struggle through the whole long story!

UNAVAILABLE ON SATURDAY.................
Yep, I'll be gone all day today, Saturday the ninth of June! I am taking the train from Anchorage to Seward and then a cruise out of Seward in Resurrection Bay. If you look at the map above you will see Seward right above the label that says "Southcentral." The train trip from Anchorage (north of Seward) is said to be one of the three most beautiful train rides in America.....sometime you even see beluga whales!
We (my friend, Jane, is going also) are taking a Kenai Fjords 5 hour cruise-we cruise an hour out to Fox Island where we are served a salmon lunch and explore the island for an hour then we get back on the boat and cruise for 4 more hours (this is billed as the "wildlife cruise"). I think this is a real bargain at $79, including lunch....but, it is even a bigger bargain when you work for Southcentral Foundation and get a 30% discount.
Anyway, we leave at 5:45 am and return at 10:30 pm-give or take. Long day.
Saturday night I will download the pictures (it takes forever anymore!) and Sunday I will have them on the blog!
Bon Voyage!

More about the return to Trent:

As I alluded to in the last blog, I am returning home to a permanent job! I was recently contacted by Roby Rural Health Clinic in regards to an opening in their clinic. My friend, Cheryl, had been the provider there since we both left Rolling Plains in Sweetwater about 2004. I have filled in for her on occasion so I am familiar with the staff, the clinic and the community.

Anyway, Cheryl had the opportunity to move over to Rotan and do more inpatient and ER work-which is a real strength of hers and a real weakness of mine. So, with that came the opening at the Roby Clinic and Cathy was kind enough to remember me and call to see if I was interested!

I was thrilled to get the opportunity to work in this clinic and today we confirmed that I will start on July 9! I couldn't be happier!!!

I work Monday through Thursday and a half day Friday which is perfect. That allows me a half day Friday and all day Saturday to be in Abilene for my complementary practice. I will be doing Shamanic Touch, Reiki, Maya Abdominal Massage-integrating herbs and aromatherapy.

So, if you need a provider call and make an appointment-I have you covered!

HATCHER PASS

GREEN TEA: THE WONDER HERB




I am departing somewhat from my usual report on the wonders of Alaska to report on the wonders of GREEN TEA.

Mom called me yesterday to report that she had almost reached her goal weight and all she had done different was start drinking 4 cups of green tea a day. Now, I know my Mom and I suspect she had been indulging in a few more goodies-you see, she loves to cook for people and her sister has moved in. I expected she would cook for Peg and she cooks some great desserts! So, I'm thinking "hummm, there must be something to this green tea thing."

So, I started doing a little research, as I sipped my cup of green tea. In fact, green tea in full of antioxidants-something I was already aware of....and it apparently helps with weight gain by boosting the metabolism. But, here are a few other little benefits to this great herb (and I can provide the research studies to any Doubting Thomas's out there).

Green tea may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer (the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women and my worse nightmare as a provider because it is so hard to diagnose before it spreads). The more green tea the greater the reduction. Studies show women who drink two cups a day were 46% less likely to develop the disease.

Green tea appears to boost memory function (hummm, I pour myself a second cup of green tea as I read this). A Japanese study of over 1,000 Japan elders shows that as their consumption of green tea increased their risk of cognitive deterioration decreased-those who had two cups a day had a whopping 54% lower risk!

Another recent study showed that gargling with green tea might help prevent flu...in the study I looked at there was an 8 percent difference in elderly nursing home clients who gargled with green tea as opposed to those who gargled with a placebo. And these elders had all received the flu shot.

There is another study that looks at longevity. This study has followed 40,500 people for over 11 years (a very nice study number and design). Green tea had reduced death in that time period by 5% in men and 31% in women...not that death is something to be forever avoided but the real issue is that it seemed to lower risk of all forms of disease and was most effective in prevention of stroke. And in this study we are talking about 3-4 cups of green tea a day.

WOW! A powerhouse in a cup! Just remember it also packs a goodly dose of caffeine so I would avoid it after mid afternoon (I say as I pour my third cup, this has a blend of spearmint, lemon verbena and lemon grass and is the tastiest medicine I have ever taken!). I absolutely DO NOT suggest decaffeinated due to the chemical process that it goes through to remove the caffeine.

Unfortunately, the FDA has not kept up with current research where green tea is concerned. Does this surprise anyone? Green tea would not contribute to the fat pockets of their buddies, the pharmaceutical companies, and the FDA only uses the words "gold standard research" when it benefits their friends.

Anyway, I digress and it's best I don't take that turn in the road.......

Last May they rejected a petition to display the herb's health benefits on the packaging. However, I don't see that as a major problem. We are all thinking adult people ultimately responsible for our own health and it's our job to learn what is and isn't good for us....and by the way we better not depend on the FDA for that...look at the drugs they approved for market that had to be removed due to the horrible side effects and even death that resulted.

Opppps....I think I am starting to turn down that road and I have other things to do today besides educate you about the FDA.

So with that I leave you to your cuppa tea. I do have one other piece of information. I am going home to a permanent job which will allow be a day and a half to spend in my own complementary practice. Perhaps this blog will change over time from a focus on Alaska to a focus on health education in the arena of things traditional and good for us.

However, we aren't there yet and today I go off with my friend, Jane, to explore more of Alaska. Pictures forthcoming!